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In celebration of our 3rd anniversary we've got gifts and a giveaway just for you! Thank you for making this an amazing 3 years!

With the arrival of 3 tiny tots over the past 2 years, we've got our hands more than full! There are so many tasks and projects that we wish we could take on at Thread & Maple, but we simply don't have time to do it all. We're looking for someone to help us with our e-mail marketing and we would absolutely love to find a fellow maker to join our small team. If you have experience with e-mail marketing and would be interested in working with us, please apply below, we'd love to hear from you! About the job... This is a remote working opportunity as an independent contractor, meaning you can set your own hours and work from home. We would be looking for 25-35 hours/week of your time, with a least 2-3 EST daytime workweek hours, the rest is up to you. In this role you will play a hands-on role in taking ownership of e-mail campaigns through ideation, execution, and reporting. Our ideal candidate knows everything about email marketing best practices and has basic HTML and CSS skills. You can analyze and review the state of our email campaigns across batch, lifecycle, and transactional emails and prepare recommendations on how to improve segmentation and personalization. With an appetite for innovation, in one moment you will be analyzing campaign metrics and in the next, you’ll be leading an upcoming campaign. You will be very much hands-on, taking ownership of your campaigns through ideation, execution, and reporting. In this role you will: Own the email channel; including automated lifecycle, acquisition, and transactional emails, as well as batch promotions and newsletters. Build segments and understand customer behaviour, optimizing the customer journey. Write engaging, on-brand copy and create well-structured, visually appealing e-mail templates. Develop and execute email marketing strategies to support new product launches, collaborations and special events. Build and maintain an email marketing calendar. Analyze and gather campaign KPI's and make data-driven decisions. Identify A/B testing opportunities, execute and optimize against your results. Stay on top of new trends in email best practice, content and strategy.   The qualifications and experience we like to see: Have 3+ years of marketing experience, with at least 2 years in email and marketing automation. Extensive experience working with a top-tier Email Service Provider (ESP) - ideally Klaviyo, Omnisend - including functionality, data integration/APIs, building dynamic content. Are a skilled wordsmith who knows how to engage readers and drive action through email. Analytically driven, with proven success in translating data into insights and action. Understand how to think through the customer journey that surrounds the email experience. Basic understanding of HTML, CSS and JavaScript. Knowledge of email best practices. Solid understanding of CAN-SPAM and CASL compliance. Strong communication skills and ability to work with different people. Ability to manage multiple projects and priorities. Interest in knitting/crochet/crafts highly desirable Why members of our team love working at Thread & Maple: Competitive salary. Flexible schedule. Flexible vacation policy. Employee discount on our products. Investment in training, mentoring, and career development. If you think you would be a good fit for this role, please apply here. We can't wait to welcome you! *** Update: This position has been filled! Thanks so much for your interest in working with us. Follow us on Instagram to stay abreast of any future openings :) ***

A knitting project bag is an essential accessory for any knitter, whether you're a beginner or an expert. It not only keeps your yarn and needles organized, but it also makes it easy to take your knitting with you on the go. In this article, we'll take a look at how to select the right knitting project bag, what factors to consider, and some recommendations. When choosing a knitting project bag, one of the most important factors to consider is size. You'll want to choose a bag that is large enough to hold all of your knitting essentials, such as yarn, needles, and patterns. However, you'll also want to choose a bag that is not too large, as a bag that is too big can be cumbersome and difficult to carry. Another important factor to consider is the type of closure. Some bags have a zipper closure, while others have a drawstring closure. Zipper closures are great for keeping your knitting essentials secure, while drawstring closures are more convenient for easy access to your knitting. If you plan on keeping your skein in your bag while you knit on the go, a zippered closure might not be the best fit since the thread can snag on the zipper teeth. Another factor to consider is the material of the bag. Some bags are made of canvas or nylon, which are durable and easy to clean. Others are made of a fabric, which can be more stylish but less durable. At Thread & Maple, our knitting project bags are handmade from quality genuine leather, which is both beautiful and long-lasting. We also offer our this unique project bag called the Cork Necessaire, crafted from Portuguese cork leather, which is not only gorgeous and sustainable, but easy to clean, durable and water-resistant. When it comes to organization, you'll want to consider if you want a bag that has pockets or compartments for storing needles, patterns, and other accessories. Some bags have a built-in notions pouch, which is a great way to keep all of your knitting essentials in one place. If there's a project bag you like that lacks a lot of pockets, a great option is to buy separate knitting tool cases, such as the Notions Clutch or On the Go, and keep them in your bag along with your work-in-progress project and yarn. Finally, you'll want to consider the style of the bag. There are many different styles of knitting project bags available, from functional and practical to stylish and trendy. Choose a bag that reflects your personal style and that you'll enjoy carrying around. With these factors in mind, here are some recommendations for great knitting project bags: The Everyday Tote This bag is made of high-quality genuine leather, with a timeless elegant style. Inside is a generous space for your knitting project and accessories, including an ample inner pocket for easy access to your essentials. The Cork Necessaire This bag has a sturdy zipper closure and is made of genuine Portuguese cork. We designed it to stand on its own with a 12cm (5 inch) deep flat base. It comfortably holds a medium-sized 4-5 skein project, such as a light cardigan or scarf. It comes with a detachable wrist strap for easy carrying. The Leather Pochette This petite elegant bag is made to fit a 1-2 skein project, with an inner zip pocket and compartments that designed to fit an On the Go and leather retractable tape measure. It snaps shut with discreet magnets, making it the perfect pouch for snag-free knitting. You can even keep your tapestry needles handy by sticking them to the little “x” on the inner lip. The Pochette comes with a matching wrist strap and you can add on an optional leather tassel as well. The Boundless Bag This is the ultimate large and luxurious leather tote - a guaranteed head-turner! Originally designed as a knitting project bag, it unzips at both sides to lay near-flat to serve as a delicate bed for your large project while knitting on the go. Its ability to unfurl like this is extremely practical when searching for a small item within and the zips give it a unique stylish flair. Inside there is a zip pocket for your notions or small accessories and two slip pockets for your phone and wallet. It closes with discreet snaps both ways, so that you can cinch it lengthwise for a more compact dumpling shape. When choosing a knitting project bag, be sure to consider the size, closure, material, organization, and style that best suits your needs. With so many great options available, you're sure to find the best knitting project bag for your projects.

Meet the newest member of the T&M team ☺️Baby Sofia decided to arrive a full month ahead of schedule on Friday, April 28th after a very stressful few days. Mama Olga and family are enjoying these precious first days of newborn snuggles, marvelling at her scrumptious tiny toes and settling into life as a family of four 💓We are very grateful that everything worked out, to be able to share this nugget of joy with you. Due to her unexpected early arrival, we haven't had a chance to share our new products with you in time for delivery on Mother's Day. Here's hoping fellow mums understand our predicament and accept some lovingly belated knitty gifts. Enjoy 10% off store-wide from Saturday May 13th to end of day EST Monday May 15th :) Wishing all the mamas out there a most amazing, knitful Mother's Day!

Thread & Maple is proudly a women-owned small business. We invite you to celebrate Women's Day by treating yourself or a woman in your life to something special from our little shop :) From 9am EST March 8th to 11:59pm EST March 9th, enjoy 15% off everything in store! Simply click 'checkout' and the discount will be applied to your entire purchase automatically. Please note that this discount can't be combined with any other offer. BROWSE SHOP   Thank you for choosing our products! ❤️

All our leather accessories are handcrafted by an incredibly talented team of leather workers in Ukraine. They are all hard at work handcrafting Needle Binders, despite the ongoing chaos that surrounds them each day. We thought we’d show you all a behind-the-scenes of their process and shed some light on the challenges they're facing. These lovely talented folks have faced so much hardship this past year. When the war broke out, they repurposed their leather studio into a Molotov cocktail production factory. They teamed up with other local small businesses to provide aid and refuge to people fleeing conflict from the Eastern parts of the country. As news of the war have been substantially muted for us in the West, their reality is still very far from 'back to normal'. There are daily power outages across the country lasting anywhere between 2 and 10 hours. They have been forced to huddle in one small room, powered by a generator and heated by a small wood-burning stove. They play music and chat, as missile strike alarms continue to sound over the city. The police, along with army officials came into the office today and took all the male workers. They are no longer leather artisans, but soldiers. Needless to say their world has been turned upside down. It's unimaginable. With the airspace closed to commercial carriers for shipping, leather shortages and several of our zips/snaps/buckles providers having either gone out of business or having had their businesses physically destroyed, we've faced our share of setbacks in 2022. One thing is certain - we are very grateful for your continued support. When you purchase a Needle Binder, or any of our leather accessories, you are enabling a lot of hardworking folks to be able to support their families during a very difficult time, when their options are extremely limited. Deepest thanks for all your shares, comments, purchases, referrals, reviews and kind e-mails. We are forever grateful and hope for peace in 2023 ♥️ - Sam & Olga

The December T&M Maker Spotlight is on the talented crochet designer behind Visuvios Crafts. We met Vincent at Rhinebeck and were instantly drawn in by his warmth and friendly nature. His crafting style is so unique, using rich vibrant colourways and incorporating inspiration from nature, African beadwork, music and emotion. He is a truly inspiring maker and we are really excited to share his story with you this month! We are fortunate and honoured to have connected with Vincent who has kindly shared some insightful Q&A's with the community. Q1: Where do you draw your inspiration when working on a new design?    I love to source my inspiration from everything around me. Of course, I love finding visual inspiration from shapes, colors, and forms in nature. However, I really love drawing inspiration from a sound, scent, or feeling. To translate those intangible items into a physical storybook, aka knitted/crochet design, is one of my favorite parts of what we do.Q2: What resources would you recommend for someone wanting to learn to knit or crochet? What are your favourite podcasts/blogs/books to learn new techniques?    If you enjoy learning through video format, I recorded an almost 90 minute Knitting 101 course with Skillshare and my friend Toni Lipsey recorded a wonderful Crochet Essentials course. Both of those full comprehensive classes will get you on your feet and stitching with confidence at whatever pace you'd like to work at, ie. don't be afraid to hit that pause and rewind button over and over again.     As a knitter, I've really enjoyed learning new skills from Staci of VeryPinkKnits on Youtube and Toni of TLYarnCrafts' Youtube channel has a ton of tutorials, vlogs, and honest product reviews. As for books, I have always shouted from the mountaintops that Modern Crochet by Teresa Carter (designer behind DeBrosse) is the crocheter's holy grail. Q3: What has been your hands down favourite project recently and why?    I have loved, loved, loved working on my Undulate Shawl because it has the best of both worlds; a mindless knitting section, but also a section that lets any colorway shine on the fabric. The shawl has been designed with dk weight yarn from LolaBeanYarn Co. and the colorway feels like all of your favorite things about autumn.   ------------------------- Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts with us, Vincent! We're so excited on our upcoming collaboration with you! Vincent is helping us design a crochet page for our Needle Binder! If you crochet, please take a minute to leave us your feedback here, we'll be incorporating suggestions from all our crochet enthusiasts!Stay tuned for next month’s edition of Maker Spotlight!

We’re so excited to share our joint creation with Reshma, the lovely and talented creator behind Hello Lavender.  We had been in awe of her work for quite some time. She has an uncanny ability to capture the delightful intricacies of the natural world in her craft. Her one-of-a-kind handcrafted stitch markers and earrings are simply irresistible! We love connecting with like-minded makers and were thrilled at the opportunity to work with her. Together, we’ve created the Nature’s Craft Bundle, which includes: A stunning Hello Lavender 4-pc removable stitch marker set, featuring a ficus elastica tree. The ficus tree has a characteristic variegated colour profile on its leaves that Reshma has captured perfectly! A T&M new Leather Notions Zip in a limited edition rich dark green colour, featuring the Hello Lavender emblem embossed on one of the zip pulls    Bundles will be available this Saturday November 19 @12pm EDT | 11am CT | 9am PT in both shops, priced at $95CAD / $80USD. To support our shared values of women’s rights and importance of availability of quality reproductive care for women and families in North America, we will both donate 10% of sales to Planned Parenthood. This has been such a fun project for us and we hope you enjoy what we’ve created!

💞We’ve gone PINK in support of breast cancer research💞   Together with The Grocery Girls and Louie & Lola Yarns, with the support of our generous friends in the fibre arts community, we’re hosting a fundraiser / giveaway event to raise awareness funds for breast cancer🎗 Donate for a chance to win daily knitty prizes and one of EIGHT grand prizes, featuring: ✨ our new Hope & Sunshine bundle, featuring a rose ribbon mini bucket bag, the new very special Hope & Sunshine sock pattern by @just_tracie and coordinating colourway skein set by @louielolayarns ✨a T&M Needle Binder ✨3 rosy skein bundles by North America’s finest indie dyers ✨ a pink ribbon T&M leather pochette ✨ a pink ribbon T&M Notions Clutch ✨ the very last Fleurs des Champs limited edition wine pochette and @julie_asselin Leizu trio ** TO ENTER ** From now until October 29th, Donate to the T&M and Grocery Girls joint fundraiser page T&M + GG Fundraiser       Each day’s donors will be entered into the daily raffle prize draw, from which both we and Tracie & Jodi will each draw a winner. All donors will be entered into the grand prize drawing on Saturday, October 29th at 12pm EDT / 10am MDT 🏆 For more chances to win, be sure to donate to our Aussie counterpart Karina Moore’s fundraiser page also, there are some truly spectacular bundles up for grabs! Be sure to follow @louielolayarns on Instagram for details! Set your alarms for 12pm EDT / 10am MDT/ 10am AEDT not only for the grand prize drawing but also the launch of our Hope & Sunshine limited edition bundles, which will be available to purchase for $130CAD / $95USD in the Thread and Maple, Grocery Girls Knit and Louie and Lola Yarns web shops! We will all donate $20CAD/$25AUD from each sale to the fundraiser ☺️ Quantities limited, so don’t miss out! This couldn’t have been possible without the support of our generous sponsors. The incredible raffle prize bundles feature donations from these talented dyers, yarn shops and fibre artists: A HUGE thank you to our very generous sponsors and friends: The Good Shepherd CeCe's wool Dirty Water Dye Works  Sheep's Shed Foster Sheep Farm Junk Yarn Sonder Yarn Co. Scrumptious Purl Miss Babs Wool and Waves Knitting Loft Julie Asselin Gauge Dye Works Statement Junkie Brine Dyeworks Tanis Fiber Arts Neighbourhood Fiber Co. Kitty With A Cupcake Yarn Boler Black Purl Magic By The Lakeside The Crafty Jackalope Dimond Laine yarn Frankie Grey Fibres High Country Wool hue loco Knit Collage Lolabean Yarn Co. Mrs. Brown's Bags mYak Tibetan Fibers Pearadise Island Thank you all so much for your support, we’re so excited to share this with you! 💗 Donate to Enter    

We have teamed up with Scrumptiouspurl to raise funds to help the children of Ukraine go back to school this fall. We have created a very special Knit for Kids of Ukraine bundle, featuring Scrumptiouspurl self-striping yarn, our On the Go and new glass fused stitch markers, all themed blue & yellow for Ukraine's colours. We will be donating 15% sale proceeds to UNICEF and running a Needle Binder Giveaway for all donors to our fundraiser. At Thread & Maple, we have been touched by the war in Ukraine on a very personal level. I (Olga), was born in Ukraine and have family there. It breaks my heart to see the devastating effects of the war on Ukrainian cities, families and schools. Our team at T&M has unfortunately been impacted by this crisis directly as well. Each one of our leather pieces is handcrafted by our young and talented leather artisan team in Lviv. When the war first broke out, our workshop there had to close. Thankfully, the studio located in the Western-most major city and our team remains safe and sound. They set aside their leathercraft tools and put their skills towards fundraising, taking in displaced families and mass-producing Molotov Cocktails to be shipped to resistance groups in the East. We are inspired by their strength, resilience and courage in the face of such an incredibly challenging situation. They quickly returned to work, lovingly crafting needle binders, notions clutches and all our other leather pieces, enjoyed by many knitters, crocheters and fibre artists in Canada and around the world. We are grateful to be able to provide them this albeit temporary distraction from the war that continues to wage around them. They have handmade these beautiful denim blue & yellow On the Go's, available for a limited time in our shop. They can be purchased on their own or as part of our Knit for Kids of Ukraine bundles, along with coordinating Scrumptiouspurl yarn and glass fused stitch markers, which are also handmade in Ukraine by a family-owned small business. We will be donating 15% of sales of all these items to UNICEF's "Children in Ukraine" initiative, which delivers aid to hundreds of thousands of children in eastern Ukraine impacted by violence and unable to attend school. We are also hosting a fundraiser & Needle Binder giveaway to rally support for Ukraine's schoolkids from the fibre arts community and beyond. Get your giveaway tickets by donating via our fundraiser page or donation form at checkout. Get 1 entry for every $20CAD donated, winner will be drawn Sunday September 18th and announced here in this blog post as well as our Instagram page. DONATE & ENTER   BUY BUNDLE

The July T&M Maker Spotlight is on Karina Moore, creator of @louielolayarns in Tasmania. Karina brought Thread & Maple to knitters of Australia and we've developed a long-distance, yet close friendship since :)  Karina not only runs her own LYS, she also dyes an exquisite palette of complimentary tonal and variegated colourways on a range of gorgeous bases, including our fave Merino Silk Yak Fingering which we couldn't resist carrying in our own shop. She's recently had her first release of hand dyed spinning fibre as she continues on her fibre craft journey, learning to spin, weave and crochet. Karina is a true inspiration for us, as she is a talented creative spirit, skilled businesswoman and local community icon. L&L have been selected as Australia Post's Local Business Hero for 2022! Together with Tracie Millar, we have collaborated on two breast cancer fundraisers, which has been a true highlight for all of us. Karina brought together the Australian fibre arts community to raise over $20,000 for breast cancer research! We are fortunate and honoured to have connected with Karina has kindly shared some insightful Q&A's with the community. Q1: What advice would you give to someone starting to learn the dyeing process?Most definitely it would be to take detailed recipe notes for your colourways.  Whilst there's certainly creative value in dyeing just for fun and and by feel (and these can always be one-of-a-kind skeins) - it's often those OOAK colourways that you love the most and want to repeat, but without detailed notes they can be a challenge to replicate.  I think it's also about getting to know your dye pigments intimately.  One of the best pieces of advice I received from Hannah of Circus Tonic Handmade who taught me how to dye, was to stick with one dye brand and get to know how the strength and properties of each dye.  Every pigment will have it's own concentration and special properties.   Some will be more granular and others more powder like.  Some will be more concentrated and others easy to 'break', whilst others not so much.  It's about getting to know how each of your pigments will behave and which ones will be better for certain dyeing techniques such as speckling.  Developing an intimate understanding of your dye pigments will help in developing new colourways and achieving the results you are after.  I think it's about having fun and developing your own dyeing style & colour palette.  Dyeing what you love and what you are proud of is also important - you can't be everything to everyone, so getting to understand your own style is important and will bring you more creative fulfillment. Also appreciating that it's a creative journey, that there will be mistakes and that you'll evolve and change over time.  I look back now at some of my earlier colourways and ask myself 'what was I thinking' - but we all start somewhere and it's only through learning and spending time on developing our craft that we can later step back and appreciate the evolution in your own work and dyeing style.Q2: What do you find most rewarding about running your own business?I would say a couple of things.Firstly, it would be having the freedom to set my own creative direction and establish business processes that work best for myself and my customers - such as having fortnightly shop updates where I focus on dyeing up a complementary palette on one main yarn base, alternated with yarn club dyeing and dyed to orders.The other would be developing friendships and gettting to know customers, suppliers and others in the fibre community.  Given how passionate we all are about our crafting and the fact that we're located all over the world and what we've been through over the pandemic - having the opportunity to make online connections in the fibre arts interaction is more importrant now than ever.  Despite living and working from home in North West Tasmania, it's great to feel more connected than ever with our community and hearing that our yarns have brought enjoyment to people's projects and crafting is definitely the best part of being an indie dyer for me.Q3: What has been the biggest challenge for you and how have you tackled it?Trying (and failing) to teach my partner how to skein yarn, LOL!  Let's just say we gave up on that idea after a few weeks!Actually it was probably convincing him to let me take the plunge of quitting my full time job - to being self-employed and focusing 100% on Louie & Lola Yarns, but we got there in the end!It has also been learning to balance the demands of a small business with also setting aside 'off' time for myself.  When you work from home it can be all too easy to let your business take over your entire life, as there's something to be done - your to-do list is always there.I guess particularly in the early years when trying to build the business and get into a routine, my biggest challenge was learning to manage my time effectively - whilst also ensuring I set aside 'creative play time' in the dye pots and also time for my own personal crafting projects. ------------------------- Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts with us, Karina! We’re so happy to have had the opportunity to get to know you and work with you, you’re a true inspiration!Stay tuned for next month’s edition of Maker Spotlight! Meanwhile, check the L&L blog for our Q&A in reverse with Karina, where she turned the spotlight back onto us!

We'd like to invite you to celebrate Thread & Maple's 2nd anniversary! Two years ago today, we opened our virtual doors and we're thrilled to be ringing in our second year in business! For our birthday weekend, we'd like to send everyone a little thank you present. Buy anything in our shop July 2-3 and choose any set of bead heart or ring stitch markers as a free gift :)   Spend over $125 CAD and get a 2nd gift of a cherry wood needle gauge ruler, maple tape measure or bohemian bag tassel.   To claim your complimentary gift, simply add whatever you like to your shopping cart July 2nd 6am - July 3rd 11pm EST. A little gift box widget will be visible at the bottom right corner of your screen that will allow you to claim your gift and select your preferred colours. If you don't see it, not to worry, we will add your gift when we're preparing your order. You can note your gift preference in the 'special instructions' text box in the cart. If you've placed an order with us Wednesday-Friday this week, we sent you a gift with your parcel :)  We're also giving away a Rose Maker's Folio to one lucky winner drawn from a list of everyone who shares their birthday present wish in the comments of our Instagram post. If you're not on Instagram, you can participate by commenting on this blog post. Thank you so so much for being with us on this journey! We're excited to see what our next year brings and look forward to sharing it with all of you! - Sam & Olga  

One of the most rewarding things that we've been lucky enough to experience in our journey as Thread & Maple, is connecting with so many talented makers in the fiber arts community. There is nothing like seeing our creations play a supporting role in all the beautiful needlecraft projects in the hands of knitwear designers, indie dyers, test knitters, teachers and fiber enthusiasts all over the world. We feel deeply grateful for the opportunity to be part of your creative process, your commitment to self-care, your artistic expression. While perusing all the beautiful photos that you've all shared using our items while creating, we had this concept of a "Maker Spotlight". The idea is to connect with a maker who really inspires us and share their story with the community. The first person who came to mind is CeCe @stitch.witch.craft, who has taken our Needle Binder along on her crafting journey in the recent debut of her video series "Letters". This is a small excerpt of her absolutely stunning videography and storytelling.   View this post on Instagram A post shared by Thread and Maple (@threadandmaple)     She has mastered the art of communicating the calm, connection and appreciation that stems from the creative process. Take a look for yourself on her YouTube channel Stitch Witch Craft We will be featuring CeCe’s selected works throughout the month of June, along with a Q&A where she will share her story. During the month of June, we will be sharing CeCe’s answers to some questions on her creative process to provide some advice and inspiration for fellow makers in the fiber arts community :)Q1: What is one piece of advice you’d give to someone starting out on a new project or creative endeavour?“Focus on what you need and on how you want the creative process to feel.I often have a specific creative mood I want to dig into (ex. romantic, bold, comforting) and I use that feeling to guide what I cast on. For example, what does a project that feels “romantic” look like? What kind of drape does the fabric have and what kind of yarn do I need to achieve it? Am I looking for the project to feel challenging and engaging as I work through it or do I need something slow and meditative? Asking “how do I want it to feel” when I wear a piece and as I make it helps align my creative drive with the project I am working on. It prevents me from feeling as if I am forcing a WIP that isn’t working for me. Be inspired by our broader knitting community but don’t knit something just because it’s new or trendy - knit what you need. “ Q2: What tools are indispensable for you in the art of making?“To be indispensable (for me) means that a tool minimizes barriers to my creative process. My big three tools are my needles, needle binder, and my yarn swift/winder. Together they decenter feelings like frustration or overwhelm and free up space for joy. I knew I needed an upgrade when I realized that most of the knitting frustration I experienced was me fighting my needles - poor quality cords and unreliable connectors took so much joy from the process. I found a set that worked for me and I’ve never looked back. My needle binder is part of why I’ve been able to do that - great needles don’t help much when you can’t keep track of them. My binder keeps everything organized and it is versatile enough that I can pull a page out to take my craft with me wherever I go. I love the confidence it gives me.Finally, someone once told me I should buy back time where I could afford to and that advice has been pivotal throughout my life. Having a swift and winder helps to protect my limited crafting time. I want to invest my energy in what fulfills me most. Between these three I worry less about “do I have enough time,” “where is that cord I need,” “is my needle disconnecting again” and more about “is this project fulfilling?” Crafting isn’t meant to be easy or perfect but I want my challenges to come from tackling a new technique or design - not my tools.  “ Q3: Where do you get your inspiration? Do you have a favourite trick or hack when brainstorming or ideating your next creative project?“Nature, always. I love how it is such a contradiction - delicate and strong, subtle and flashy, nurturing and challenging. I want to be as surrounded by nature as I can be and that’s where a lot of my creative drive comes from. I’ll watch the sunrise through the trees and think “it’d be so awesome to be wrapped up in this color” or see a fern and then end up at home looking up at lace patterns trying to find one that captures that look. I love the idea that even when I’m stuck indoors I can carry that connection to nature with me. But I am also trying to learn to respect the process. My biggest “trick” may seem a bit counterintuitive - but respect the ebbs and flows. With creativity or inspiration to craft - it’s natural that there be lulls at times. The worst thing I’ve found is applying pressure or guilt when you feel like you’re in a rut. We’re not meant to be endless sources of production or art. Let go. Rest periods are normal - and feeling like you’re in a rut is a signal that right now your job isn’t to produce art but to maybe…rest? That inspiration and creativity will come back, I promise. So respect the ebbs and flows.  “We are deeply touched and thankful for CeCe and all of you who have invited us into your home, your creative nook, your comfort space. ❤️ Thank you and stay tuned for next month's edition of Maker Spotlight!

May 20th marks the birthdays of two members of the T&M team: Olga & Stephanie! We are celebrating by offering 15% off each of their current favourite items in the shop: the Leather Necessaire (Stephanie's) and the Maker's Folio (Olga's). And since it's also a long weekend in Canada - woo hoo! - sale is on from Friday May 20th to end of day Monday May 23rd. --------------------------------------- We also wanted to share a quick update on our Needle Binder, as you’ll notice most binder pages are now out of stock in our shop.The good news is that our leatherwork team have been busy and we’ve got mountains of goodies ready for us. We have made a little bit of progress in finding a shipping option from Ukraine. Thanks to a good friend, we are able to route a few small parcels through the US. This means that we will have all pages back in stock within a couple of weeks.The bad news is that it will be a small batch, so they are likely to be gone quickly. We will send out a newsletter as soon as we’ve got them in. We are working on a long-term solution together with our team there and hope to have consistent and reliable supply this summer. We’ve also got a couple of new page designs almost ready from your page requests, which we’re excited to share ☺️ Until then, please bear with us, we are doing our absolute best 💙

Mother's Day is just around the corner, find the perfect gift and we'll take 15% off your entire order this weekend! We'll ship all weekend orders by Monday/Tuesday at the latest, so it should arrive just in time! 💕 Sale runs from Friday, Apr 29 3pm to Sunday May 1 11:59pm EST. Please note no other discount codes can apply simultaneously. As long as you checkout during the sale period, your discount will apply automatically :) Don't forget to pick up a card, here's our fave from Tophat & Monocle: SHOP GIFTS

We've been getting a lot of requests for our Needle Binders, so we wanted to give a little update for you all here. Firstly, we are very grateful that our leatherwork team in Ukraine are all safe and sound. We are so relieved and happy that our friends are in high spirits in the midst of this extremely difficult situation. We are in touch with them daily and they have chosen to continue working and creating beautiful leather pieces for us and for you. They are thankful for the opportunity to keep working, earning a living and having a distraction from the horrible events going on around them. The key challenge for us remains the status of the Ukrainian airspace with respect to commercial shipping carriers, as we have been unable to establish a reliable shipping method to receive parcels from them. Currently, we are out of stock of a key binder component, that is essential in building most Whiskey interchangeable needles pages, which is why you will find a lot of them sold out. We are not opening them for preorder until we are confident in a ship date for them. If you are considering purchasing the binder in Whiskey and your required page(s) are unavailable, we would recommend to hold off until all the pieces you want are back in stock on our website. The latest update we have is that our usual shipping option will become available again by the end of April, which means we should receive a restock by early to mid-May. We will send you an e-mail as soon as we have them in :) On behalf of Sam & I, our small team in Quebec and our talented leather workers in Ukraine, thanks so much for your continued support and choosing to shop with us!  

We're celebrating the long weekend with a fun giveaway and two special offers in our shop: 1. Buy any basket and get the second one half price 2. Buy any project bag, get an On the Go half price Simply add any 2 baskets or any project bag and an On the Go to your shopping cart and the discount will apply automatically. Sale runs from 12pm Friday, April 15th and 12pm Monday, April 18th Eastern time. Kindly note that our system only allows one discount offer per cart, so you won't be able to apply any other discount codes to your purchase. We thought it would be fun to run an Easter giveaway as well, featuring one of our Jute Baskets filled with these knitty goodies: - A limited edition sky-blue On the Go - Scrumptious Purl Stripe-Me-Up 3-colour superwash merino self-striping yarn - 3 skeins of T&M worsted weight yarn (Chamomile, Oatmeal & Ocean Spray) - An Easter egg with 12x bead ring blue stitch markers *Please note the bunny in the picture is a dear friend of baby Chet and is not part of the prize 😊 To enter: 1) Follow us on Instagram @threadandmaple and @scrumptiouspurl 2) Tag 2 friends in our giveaway post and share how you're spending the long weekend We will draw a winner from the comments on Sunday at 12pm EST, we look forward to hearing from you, good luck! If you're not on Instagram, please comment on this blog post to be added to the list of entrants. Open to residents of USA/Canada/UK/EU/Australia. This giveaway is not endorsed by Facebook or Instagram, just us! 👱🏼‍♀️👩🏻

Come for a quick tour of our booth @knitcitycanada! ☺️Big thank you to everyone who stopped by to say hello, it was so great to meet you in person! There were so many gorgeous booths, it was such a pleasure to meet and reconnect with fellow vendors and friends in such an intimate and fun environment 💜 Thanks to all who purchased one of our special maple tape measures or clutches, we were able to donate over $500 to the Montreal Children’s Hospital Foundation @lechildren 🏥Thank you @knitcitycanada for hosting such a vibrant and fun event! We’ll definitely be back next year and hope to see more of you face to face! 🤗